The present invention relates to a crash rail suitable for use in a vehicle.
It is an acknowledged requirement that motor vehicles should have a rigid passenger cell resistant to deformation and, at least in front and behind the passenger cell, crash structures which on impact of the vehicle with another object deform in a controlled manner to absorb the energy of the impact and to protect passengers located in the passenger cell. These crash structures can comprise crash rails.
The present invention provides a crash rail for a vehicle comprising:
a root portion which can be anchored to a part of the vehicle;
a tip portion which is spaced apart from the root portion and which is located nearer a potential impact point of the vehicle when the root portion is anchored to the said part of the vehicle; and
a middle portion which extends from the root portion to the tip portion; wherein:
the crash rail comprises a wall which defines a groove or a cavity in the crash rail;
the groove or the cavity in the crash rail has a cross-sectional area which increases gradually from the tip portion to the root portion;
the wall has a thickness which increases gradually from the tip portion to the root portion;
the wall is composed of a composite material having fibres set in a resin material;
the crash rail can be crushed when the vehicle impacts with another object to thereby absorb energy of the impact;
during the impact the crash rail disintegrates with the resin separating from the fibres set therein; and
during the impact the crash rail disintegrates progressively with the tip portion disintegrating first and then the middle portion and lastly the root portion.
The present invention also provides a wheeled motor vehicle comprising the crash rail described above.